Monday, April 26, 2010

April wrap up


Started digging up the new flower bed near the mailbox. It's a lot bigger than I thought it was. I had it covered with cardboard for a few weeks (I should have done that last fall) I uncovered about 2/3 of it and dug up squares of sod and turned it over- it took about 6 hours. I didn't get to the last 1/3, it rained yesterday and was pretty cold (we had a fire in the stove). I'm still undecided about what to plant in that bed. I was going to go with purple and red but I'm thinking that's going to be really garish. Now I'm thinking pastels (that will go better with the beds closer to the house). If I go in that direction I will dig up Hippolyte (rose) and move it down there and plant the red flowers up by my Winchester Cathedral rose. I also may move Distant Drums down there where it will get more sun. I'm also going to plant some veggies in that area since the space is so big. I'll probably put in some GWR tomatoes and maybe the lemon cucumbers and a squash or zucchini. Captain Sam isn't looking so good, the roses in that bed are being attacked by a little brown worm that's boring into the emerging leaf buds. I'm hand picking them and squashing them but the leaf buds are being destroyed in the process. Russelliana and Clotilde Soupert are holding up better than Sam. I'll try cutting him back and see what happens. I might move him out of there and put Gruss an Aachen there. I need to move Gruss because DH wants it's space to put the woodpile. I have a lot of work to do.
Volunteer Borage is coming up in the veg garden. Peas and fava's are getting bigger. Last years chard is still going. Spinach and onions are looking puny.
What's blooming: grape hyacinths, forsythia, cherry trees, azaleas, narcissus, primrose, tulips, bleeding hearts, creeping phlox, lilacs are just starting (about 2-3 weeks early)

Today
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers through early afternoon...then becoming partly sunny. Highs in the mid 50s. Northeast winds 10 mph or less...becoming north. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Tonight
Partly cloudy. Cooler with lows in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 mph or less...becoming north and increasing to 10 to 20 mph.

Tuesday
Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s. North winds 10 to 20 mph...becoming northwest. Gusts up to 30 mph.

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph...becoming west.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 50s. West winds 10 to 20 mph.
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s.

Thursday
Sunny. Highs around 60.

Thursday Night
Mainly clear. Lows in the lower 40s.

Friday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.

Friday Night
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Lows around 50. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers. Highs in the lower 70s. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers. Lows around 50.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Highs in the lower 70s.
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Monday, April 19, 2010

Snow Mold solution?


We've got a snow mold problem in the front yard. Our lawn should look great -it gets plenty of sun, good drainage- it doesn't. I raked up all the brown patches and spread new grass seed and corn meal (its anti-fungal properties are supposed to fight the mold). Then I sprayed compost tea on all but the first 3 feet of the yard (sprayer got clogged). I need to figure out how to use the sprayer and keep it from clogging. Yesterday was a perfect day for yard work-I really need to get some work done on the new front bed- but we had issues with a leaky faucet and I spent the better part of the day trying to fix that. No luck, we need to call a plumber, faucet won't come off.
What's blooming-Cherry trees, forsythia, daffodils, grape hyacinth, forsythia, tulips, primrose, bleeding hearts, magnolias

Today
Sunny. Highs ranging from near 60 inland to the lower 50s right along the Lake Shore. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight
Mainly clear. Areas of frost overnight. Lows in the mid to upper 30s. West winds 10 to 15 mph...diminishing to 10 mph or less.
Tuesday
Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s. West winds 10 mph or less...becoming northwest.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. West winds 10 mph or less.
Wednesday
Partly sunny. A chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 60s. West winds 10 mph or less. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers. Lows around 40.
Thursday
Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 50s.
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s.
Friday
Sunny. Highs in the mid 50s.
Friday Night
Mainly clear. Lows in the lower 40s.
Saturday
Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of showers. Highs in the lower 60s.
Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Lows in the upper 40s.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Highs in the mid 60s.
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Monday, April 12, 2010

Tea Time!


I've been wanting to fertilize my yard & garden for years but wasn't really sure how to go about it. The "traditional" way, of course, is to mix up a funky blue chemical with some water and soak the plants with it. When I moved into my first house the previous owners left a big box of miracle grow in the garage. The color of the stuff freaked me out. It freaked me out so much that I still have the box, brought it all the way from NC. I don't want to throw it out, I don't want to use it. So it sits on a shelf in the garage. I use composted manure and leaf mould in the veg garden every year but I'm looking for something to use in the flower gardens as well as the veg garden.
Along comes the Helpful Gardener Forum and their sticky in the organic section about aerated compost tea. I started reading and googling and a few days later I have made my own compost tea brewer for super cheap. It's happily perculating away and should be done later this afternoon. I plan on having a few "control" plants. Since I have several Arugaman's Eggplants, basil, rosemary and Cheverna chuska peppers, I'll do 2 mixed pots of each and one will get the tea, the other just water and we'll see what happens.

I still have a TON to learn. Biology isn't my thing but I'm reading and making notes. I figure as long as I don't kill my plants with it (they say that's virtually impossible to do) I should be ok.
I also potted up most of the remaining pepper, eggplant and tomato plants. I still have a few to go but the main work is done. I've been hardening off the plants outside during the day. It's still getting down in the low 30's at night so I bring them in in the evening. Things are looking good!
What's blooming now: Forsythia, primrose, daffodils, cherry trees, scilla siberica
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Monday, April 5, 2010

April!


It's been a scorcher! I took Friday off to work in the yard. We broke a heat record 86! No shade. Brutal. I planted the favas, peas and spinach. Friday was veg garden day: I put up the pea trellis, laid out cardboard on the paths. I also cleaned the grill- a 3 hour job that I wasn't planning on. Saturday (also brutally hot) I started a new bed by the mailbox. I mapped it out with the chewed up soaker hose, dug a trench around the perimeter and laid out cardboard. I also weeded the front, side and back flower beds and raked up some leaves. Big winds came in on Saturday night, blew over the pea trellis and blew more leaves into the side bed- I can't win! Yesterday (cooler, sunny highs in the high 60's) I put the plants that have been wintering in the sunroom out on the deck. Ghislaine de Felagonde has little buds on it! I really need to pot up some of the seedlings. I found the pots that I thought DH had thrown out (In a tub behind the kayak). The attached pic is one I took this morning of the lady's mantle. I found several volunteer lady's mantle when I was weeding this weekend- cool!
What's blooming now: Violets, Daffodils, Primrose, Forsythia
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